Today was the last day of our Oberammergau tour. Luckily, we were part of the group that got to sleep in and take the late shuttle to the airport…yay! I wouldn't want to have been those poor souls leaving at 4:30 am :(   The majority of our tour group was on later flights, so we enjoyed one last breakfast together before saying our sad goodbyes to Robert. He was so awesome on this trip; we were wishing we could bring him with us to Rome! Once we got to the airport, we said our goodbyes to the six in our group that were heading back to West Fargo. Once we had them safely on their way, Peter, Vicki, Bob, Paula, Patrick and I checked in for our flight, stowed our carry on luggage (which was an adventure in and of itself!) and headed off to explore Frankfurt. Remember how I said yesterday Heidelberg was my absolute favorite? Well, Frankfurt gave it a run for its money today! We hopped the train from the airport to downtown and followed the map Robert had provided for us with some must see attractions for our short stay in Frankfurt.

We visited St. Catherine’s, St. Paul’s and saw a couple others that I just can’t remember the names of right now, but the two I did remember names to were absolutely amazing! St. Paul’s had a HUGE pipe organ towards the back of the church, but at the front, behind the alter, was another worship area with what appeared to be an older motif and there was yet ANOTHER organ! We could have dueling organs!

We continued our stroll and ended up down by the Main River. As it was about that time of day we grabbed a table at a little café along the water and had lunch. It was most delicious and hit the spot! Once we finished our lunch, it was off to the walking bridge for one final photo op. However, along the way, we discovered some swans swimming in the river. Peter decided they looked hungry, so he was feeding two of them, providing Bob and me with some good laughs as these swans were acting like dogs or cats trying to get the treat! It was too cute!

After the walking bridge, it was time to head back to the station to catch our train to the airport. But, not before stopping to buy pashmina #2 (I bought one in Oberammergau, but found that I got a much better deal in Frankfurt 19.99€ vs. 2.50€!! ARGHH!!! However, they are both very cute and I think I may get a couple more here in Italy (tonight I saw some for 7.50€)….they are so fun!! But, I digress.

We made it back to the airport in record time, but our flight did not leave in record time! We were about 30 minutes late from Frankfurt, so we arrived in Rome around 6 pm. After grabbing a taxi at the airport, we were deposited at our hotel for the duration, the Torre Rossa Park Hotel. We’re very near Vatican City and, we’ve discovered, not a very short walk from the train station like we thought! However, there is a bus that leaves from right outside the hotel, so tomorrow we can save our feet for more important walking!

Tonight, we made our way to Trevi Fountain…….I’m sure it’s beautiful in the daylight, but words can’t begin to describe how unbelievable it is at night! And the crowds of people….wow! I threw the coins in that some of my friends had given me before leaving Frankfurt and then threw my own in….hope that means I’ll get to come back here again soon….we’ve only been here 6 ½ hours and I already want to come back with my friends and explore some more!

After Trevi Fountain, we decided it was time for some dinner. We were recommended a little hole in the wall that was down a couple alleys (does this count as my getting to the scary part of town on every trip I go on???), but was it ever worth it! I had the best macaroni and cheese ever, and I don’t like macaroni and cheese! Ok, it wasn’t really, but it was Penne ai Quattro Foraggio (4 cheese penne)…yummy!

Well, now it was time to walk off all that rich pasta, so we were off to the Spanish Steps. Again, absolutely amazing at night. There were lots of people on the steps, but we were still able to get some great pictures. By now, we’re all getting pretty tired, so it’s time to head back to the hotel. We managed to find our train station and a shorter walk back to the hotel (thanks to Bob and Vicki’s GPS’s that they brought with!). However, I think tomorrow, we’ll be busing it! It’s now 12:30 am and time to the hit the hay so I can get up and meet my fellow adventurers for breakfast before heading off the Coliseum and other great sites. Arrivederci!